


Paradise by the Dashboard Light

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Category: Lovecraft Country (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Detective Leti is on the case, F/F, Family Feels, Humor, Sister-Sister Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27488170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: It's not that Ruby has been acting suspiciously. But Leti sees her older sister climb into a mysterious silver car. Who could this car belong to? A secret boyfriend? Leti is on the case, for better or worse...
Relationships: Letitia "Leti" Lewis & Atticus "Tic" Freeman, Ruby Baptiste & Letitia "Leti" Lewis, Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite
Comments: 11
Kudos: 103





	Paradise by the Dashboard Light

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Still couldn't find a good title so I settled for the title of one of the songs I listen to the most these days!  
> Today is a good day: I just gave my presentation on the first episode of Lovecraft Country, and it was fire, and the teacher loved it and he couldn't stop talking about it :) Once I'm done posting this story I'm going back to working on my next multi-chapter story, and I can already confirm to you that it will be the adventure story I mentioned yesterday ;)  
> Anyway, I thought the idea of Leti seeing Ruby climb into the silver car without knowing who's driving and trying to figure it out like she's in a mystery novel would be very fun, and it is. I hope you'll enjoy it!

It had taken about a month, but Letitia was finally getting the hang of being a high school freshman. Once she'd memorized her classrooms and the name of her teachers and she stopped taking turns, she felt more confident. She'd joined two after school clubs. The photography club was a lot of fun and the older members were teaching her quite a lot. The Futurist Science Fiction club was Atticus' club, he'd asked her to join and in her quality of best friend, she couldn't refuse. She was the only girl in the club but the other members had welcomed her quickly enough and had learned just as swiftly to hold their tongue when Leti had something to say.

  
However, on this particular Tuesday, Atticus had to help his uncle at the traveling agency, and so the after school meeting had been canceled. Right before the end of the lunch break, Leti found Ruby at her locker, taking the books she needed for the second half of her day. Leti leaned against the lockers beside her sister's.

  
"Tic had to cancel the club meeting. Do you want to walk home together? We could stop at the ice cream parlor, get a one last ice cream before it becomes too cold."

  
It was something they used to do when Ruby had been in middle school and Leti in elementary school. They would walk home and stop to buy ice cream, especially if Leti had had a bad day or a good grade. Really, any excuse to get ice cream was good. However, Ruby shook her head.

  
"Sorry sis, but I have a group study after school."

  
Leti sighed. She'd expected such an answer. Ruby was a senior, and apparently, seniors had a lot of work all the time. Ruby also wanted to apply for a scholarship to go to college, which required amazing grades. So Leti didn't begrudge her sister too much.

  
"Too bad."

  
"If you see mom, tell her I'll be back in time for dinner."

  
"Sure."

  
"Thanks, Leti."

  
Ruby closed the locker quickly.

  
"See you tonight."

  
Leti nodded and watched her sister walk to class. She sighed again and made her way to class.

* * *

Leti left school at four, and her desire for ice cream still hadn't subsided. She decided to make a stop by the ice cream parlor on her own. It was a sunny and warm day, probably one of the last few before fall settled over Chicago. It was now or never. She took a turn to the left instead of the right, forgoing the bus, and made her way toward the ice cream parlor.

  
She was halfway there when she noticed someone walking ahead of her. She had absolutely no doubt that it was Ruby. She recognized her outfit, the strap of her bag passing over her shoulder, and her walk. She had headphones on, so even if Leti tried to call her, she wouldn't respond. Leti wondered where her older sister was going. The study groups usually met at the school's library. Maybe she was going to the public library, but that wasn't the way to the library either. Leti thought it would be funny if they ended up one behind the other at the ice cream parlor. Maybe she could ask her then.

  
However, Ruby took a turn to the right, away from the ice cream parlor. Leti frowned again. She stopped at the red light where Ruby had crossed and watched her sister walk toward the nearby park. Leti couldn't help but wonder what her sister was up to. It wasn't like Ruby to lie to her or have secrets. When the light turned green again, Leti hurried after her sister.

  
She kept her distance, making sure that Ruby wouldn't notice her. Ruby was indeed going to the park, but she didn't walk in, instead, she made her way around it. There was a car parked beside the sidewalk. It was an old-looking silver car, with dark windows. It was impossible to tell who or if someone was inside. Ruby stopped by the car and knocked on the window. The door opened. Ruby slid inside, and Leti was very confused. Ruby was seating in the driver's seat, but shortly after she'd stepped in, the car drove away. Ruby didn't know how to drive. Marvin had tried to teach her but after she'd accidentally crashed his old pickup, they'd both given up. So Ruby couldn't be driving.

  
Leti watched the silver car disappear at a corner and drive away. She remained on the sidewalk for a moment, her brain full of questions. Ruby had lied, at least she was certain of that. But why? Who did this car belong to? Certainly, someone rich, to own such a luxurious looking vehicle. Leti pulled her phone out and called Ruby. She wanted to know the truth, and know why her sister had lied to her.

  
" _What?_ " Ruby said as she picked up.

  
Leti couldn't find her words. What was she supposed to say? That she'd accidentally followed Ruby and seen her setting into a stranger's car? An expensive car at that?

  
" _Leti? What's going on?_ "

  
Leti swallowed, and with the only voice she could find, she asked:

  
"Are you at your study group yet?"

  
" _Yeah, we're kind of busy._ "

  
A cold bolt of betrayal struck Leti then.

  
"It's... it's not important. It can wait. See you later."

  
" _Later._ "

  
Ruby hung up, and Leti lowered her phone. She couldn't believe Ruby had lied to her again. She didn't even want to get ice cream anymore. Instead, she made her way back home, deep in thoughts. Why would Ruby lie to her? Who was the man – it had to be a man, only men had nice expensive cars like this one – who'd picked her up? Could he be her boyfriend? She thought Ruby knew she could tell her if she had a secret boyfriend. They were sisters, it had to mean something.

  
By the time Leti was stepping inside of her apartment building, she'd come up with her wildest theory yet. Ruby had a deal with some sort of underground mafia and she sang at their club in exchange for college money. But then again maybe Ruby wouldn't go around singing from bar to bar without her trusty guitar, and when Leti went into their shared bedroom, the guitar was exactly where it should have been.

  
She decided to confront Ruby about it when her older sister returned. But right before dinner time, when Ruby stepped into the apartment, telling their mother about all the work she and her friends had managed to finish, Leti didn't have the heart to it. She would need more proof that Ruby really was doing something weird, she decided as she struggled to fall asleep, too caught up in her mind.

* * *

The next day, Leti confirmed that Ruby had another study group. But instead of taking the bus like usual, she hid and waited for Ruby to walk by to follow her. Again, Ruby made her way to the side of the park and stepped into the silver car. But this time, Leti was ready. She pulled her father's old Polaroid camera from her bag and snapped as many pictures as she could. Pictures of Ruby stepping into the car, pictures of the car and its license plate. She stuffed them all in her bag and waited until she'd gotten home to analyze them. There was still absolutely no way to know who the car belonged to, and she'd never seen this silver car before. It was a Sedan, she found after doing a bit of Internet research. She hid the pictures in an envelope in her bag so Ruby wouldn't see them when she returned.

  
The next day, Leti almost dragged Atticus into the Futurists Science Fiction club room and showed him the pictures.

  
"It doesn't make any sense. I don't know why she would lie to me like that."

  
Atticus looked at the pictures and shrugged. Despite his sudden growth over the summer, his glasses still looked just a bit too big for him, sometimes making him look like an owl. He scratched his head thoughtfully.

  
"I don't know. I mean, does it really matter that she has a secret boyfriend?"

  
Leti glared at him and took the pictures back.

  
"Of course it does! We're sisters, she's supposed to tell me everything. I tell her everything. If she's starting to hold back then why shouldn't I?"

  
"I think you're taking this a bit too personally," Tic dared to say and regretted immediately.

  
Leti put the photos back in the envelope as Atticus added:

  
"And besides, doesn't your mother has a 'no boyfriend' policy? Of course Ruby would keep her boyfriend secret if this is what it is."

  
"Still, she could have told me. I can keep a secret. I've never told anyone about that time you asked Ji-Ah to the dance and she said no."

  
Atticus cleared his throat.

  
"You didn't have to remind me of that..."

  
Leti rolled her eyes.

  
"Will you help me, then?"

  
"Help you what, follow your sister around? If she catches us she will kill us."

  
"She won't. First I want to look around the school's parking lot, see if we can find the car."

  
Atticus sighed. He doubted this would be so easy. Still, it was better if he helped her. At least he could try to keep her out of trouble.

  
They made their way to the parking lot during the lunch break. It was a graying day, with enough clouds in the sky to worry Leti. She didn't bring an umbrella with her. Armed with one of her pictures, she began looking at every car belonging to either a member of the staff or one of the students who owned a car. However, it became quickly clear that no one owned an expensive silver Sedan. In fact, not a single of the cars in the parking remotely looked like the one Ruby had climbed into.

  
"Maybe she's dating a college student," Atticus reasoned after they'd walked up and down the parking lot for the second time. "Didn't she take a few summer classes for extra credit?"

  
Leti groaned. Atticus was right. Ruby had saved for two years to buy those lessons, hoping it would help her get into college more easily. She could have met a guy there. This whole relationship could have started ages ago and she'd only realized it a few days ago.

  
They walked back toward the school when a group of jocks noticed them. The guys were hanging by a hidden corner of the school building, smoking. Leti wasn't quite familiar with the composition of their school's teams yet – and she didn't intend to be – but they looked like typical basketball players, lanky and taller than either she or Atticus.

  
"Hey kids, what were you up to on the parking lot?" one of them joked as the duo walked past.

  
Leti decided to ignore them, but even that wasn't enough to stop them.

  
"Aren't you a little young to be messing about?" one of them said.

  
"He's a little young. She's just about ready," another replied, making Leti's skin crawl.

  
Just when she feared the group of smokers would follow them back inside, a voice rose from the top of the steps leading to the school's entrance.

  
"Leave them be. I won't ask twice."

  
Leti and Atticus stopped, just in time to see Christina Braithwhite staring down at the group with her intense blue eyes. Everyone knew who Christina Braithwhite was. The renovated gymnasium had been named after her father, that's how rich they were. She was the captain of the debate team and the science club. One of the top contenders for this year's valedictorian position. And Tic's – very distant – cousin.

  
Her threat was enough to make the jocks walk away to another corner of the school building. She walked down the steps and came up to Leti and Tic.

  
"You two okay?" she asked.

  
"Yeah, yeah," Atticus said with a shrug.

  
"We had it under control," Leti replied.

  
Christina hummed.

  
"I don't doubt it."

  
She walked away toward the gymnasium. Leti glared at her back. She hated Christina. Mostly on Ruby's behalf. Because she was certain that her sister was smarter and better than the blonde, but no one cared. But Ruby would prove them all wrong, and be the valedictorian this year. If this secret relation didn't make her grades dip.

  
The duo walked back inside and back to the club room.

  
"I guess you'll just have to ask her," Atticus reasoned.

  
"I can't," Leti replied. "Can you imagine if I've been wrong this whole time, and I misread the whole situation?"

  
"No, that's just unimaginable," Tic said sarcastically.

  
Leti pushed him with her shoulder, making Tic chuckle.

  
"We have to tail her."

  
Atticus blinked in surprise.

  
"I'm sorry, what?"

  
"Ruby and the mysterious driver. We'll have to follow them to see where they're going. You can borrow Woody, right?"

  
"I don't think that's such a good idea."

  
"Please, Tic. I won't ever ask anything of you ever again, but this is important."

  
Tic sighed. He knew that wasn't true, and Leti was bound to ask him for more favors, but he supposed that was what best friends were for.

  
"Fine. When?"

  
"I'll call you."

* * *

Tic got a call from Leti on Sunday morning. He'd stayed up late reading, only to awaken by Leti's frantic calls. Ruby had a supposed other study group meeting that afternoon. Atticus barely had time to ask his uncle George for Woody before he had to rush to pick up Leti.

  
"This is not going to end well," Atticus warned when Leti stepped into the car.

  
Leti rolled her eyes.

  
"It'll be fine. Now come on, let's go before we lose her."

  
Tic rolled his eyes but drove off. He followed Leti's direction until they'd caught up to Ruby. They saw her round the corner then make her way to the silver Sedan. Once Ruby was inside the car, it drove off.

  
"Go! Go!" Leti shouted.

  
"The light is red!" Atticus replied.

  
As soon as he could, Tic almost caught up to the silver car.

  
"Not too close," Leti warned.

  
Tic shot her a look.

  
"We aren't in a movie, Leti."

  
"If she sees Woody she'll know."

  
Atticus rolled his eyes but he still tried to keep a certain distance from the silver Sedan. The car made its way north of Chicago. It joined the freeway, and Atticus followed. Leti kept an eye on the car, but thankfully it was unique enough that it stood out. However, it was quick, prompting Atticus to drive at the edge of the speed limit. Leti was at the edge of her seat, and more than once, Tic feared that she would try to take his place behind the wheel.

  
The silver car left the highway and followed increasingly smaller and smaller roads. Soon, it was only the silver Sedan on the road, and Woody a mile behind or so. The road turned from concrete to dirt, and the silver car sped up further, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Atticus didn't try to catch up, but Leti didn't push him to. The cloud was easy enough to follow.

  
In no time, they reached the end of a trail. A gate at the end of the road blocked their path, but the silver car could have only gone that way. Tic stopped the car in front of the gate.

  
"It's private property," Tic said. "We can't continue."

  
Still, Leti unbuckled her seat belt and jumped out of the car.

  
"Stay here."

  
"Leti!"

  
Before he could call her back, she was already climbing over the gate and running up the path. The dirt path was steep, and lined with trees. Her feet brushed a few dead leaves on the path. Soon this entire path would be open to the sky, but until winter neared, the trees were still full of life.

  
Once she neared the top of the hill, the trees disappeared. The path emerged on a flat plain, with an old observatory in the center. The silver car was parked in the grass near the road. Leti dove behind the car, careful to stay out of the view of the windows. She wondered whether Ruby was still inside of the car.

  
She heard the door to the observatory opening loudly, and she remained hidden against the car's right side, peeking from behind the car's front wheel. She heard voices talking, but she couldn't make sense of the words. It was followed by light laughter as Christina Braithwhite made her way out of the observatory. Leti held her breath. The blonde was coming her way.

  
Christina walked through the grass with her usual confident strides. Soon, she would reach the car, and Leti was sure she wouldn't have the time to react if she came her way. Instead, she dropped on her back and rolled under the car. There was just enough space for her to hide there. She stayed perfectly still, her lungs screaming for air. She heard footsteps coming closer, and she placed a hand on her mouth. Christina went to the trunk. She opened it. Leti felt the car shifting, heard the hinges of the trunk creak before it was shut loudly. Then, the footsteps moved away. Leti took a deep breath, then rolled away from the car. When she pushed herself up, she saw Christina walking back toward the observatory. She was carrying a big backpack in one hand.

  
Swiftly, Leti pulled her camera out of her bag and she snapped a few pictures. Just as Christina reached the door of the observatory, Ruby walked out. Leti managed to snap one picture of the two of them side by side, before she hurriedly ducked back behind the car, panic seizing up in her chest. She took all the new pictures, shaking them furiously until the images appeared. They were from a distance, but it was easy to recognize both of the girls.

  
Keeping to a crouch, she ran up to one of the observatory's windows. She hid underneath, readying her camera. She made sure the flash wouldn't trigger so as not to give away her position. Then, she stood up suddenly, taking a picture. However, she almost dropped her camera when she saw what was going on inside. Ruby and Christina were laying on a blanket and kissing. Aggressively kissing. It made Leti very uncomfortable. She crouched back under the window and watched as the only picture she'd taken slowly appeared. She hadn't imagined things. Ruby and Christina really were kissing.

  
Leti stuffed the camera and picture in her bag and ran back to the path. She didn't slow down as she made her way down the hill and almost tripped on a tree root. She made it back down and climbed over the fence. Atticus had turned the car around, and he was anxiously waiting for her, his fingers tapping over the steering wheel in an uneven rhythm. He almost jumped out of his seat when Leti pulled the car door open and stepped inside.

  
"So?" he asked, worried by Leti's expression.

  
"It's worst than I thought," she said. "I think Christina is trying to manipulate Ruby. Make her fall in love with her so she can break her heart and stop her from being valedictorian. It's really bad."

* * *

Monday after-school was usually when the science club met. In all logic, Ruby didn't have a study group that day. But Leti told her the Futurist Science Fiction club was having an exceptional meeting. Atticus could corroborate her lie because he was her best friend. In reality, Leti was waiting at Little Joe's, a bowl of three ice cream scoops in front of her.

  
"I don't exactly love blackmailing," Christina said as she walked into the shop and came to stand by Leti's table.

  
She threw an envelope on the table which Leti instantly recognized. She'd shoved it into Christina's locker that morning. It contained some of the pictures Leti had taken and a note. We need to talk.

  
"I'm assuming Ruby doesn't know you took these," Christina said, crossing her arms.

  
"I'm doing this for her," Leti replied.

  
Christina rolled her eyes but sat in the booth opposite Leti's.

  
"She's going to be very angry when she finds out."

  
"I know my sister better than you, and when she finds out what you're plotting, it's not me she's going to be pissed at."

  
Christina frowned, before chuckling.

  
"What am I plotting, then?" she asked, leaning back in her seat.

  
"It's obvious you're just using her. You want to stop her from being valedictorian, and getting a scholarship, so you're making her fall in love with you, just so you can break her heart."

  
Christina laughed at Leti's suggestion. Leti thought it was her admitting her crime. Instead, Christina sighed and said:

  
"I didn't know you thought I was evil like that."

  
"She might not see it, but I do. I can see right through you."

  
"Really?"

  
Christina opened her bag and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her notepad. She handed it to Leti, then leaned back in her seat. Leti took the paper with a frown and unfolded it. It was a list of universities, all of which Leti recognized as the ones Ruy had been meaning to apply to. She recognized that almost half of the list had been written by her sister, and some of the comments on certain names were also from her handwriting.

  
"What is that?" Leti asked.

  
"We've been planning to go to the same university together next year," Christina explained. "I don't know about Ruby, well, I do know, she told me, but if my father finds out about us, I can't even imagine what he'll do. So to know that someone took pictures of us really pisses me off."

  
Still, her voice remained cool, icy as her eyes.

  
"The truth is that I'm not manipulating your sister. I'm not trying to break her heart. I love her. I'd be very lucky if she felt the same."

  
Leti stared back at the envelope on the table. So maybe she'd overreacted. Maybe her sister didn't need protection from her. Maybe she simply was in a secret relationship with another girl because their mom would kill her if she found out the truth. Still, Leti couldn't help but feel hurt.

  
"She should have told me," she said.

  
"I can't speak for her. You should probably tell her that you know."

  
Leti handed the list back to Christina. Christina pocketed it back, along with the envelope.

  
"I'll destroy these. I'd appreciated it if you could burn the ones you still have."

  
Leti nodded.

  
"Can I ask you something?"

  
"Sure."

  
"I didn't even know you two knew each other. How did this happen?"

  
"This summer. I was taking classes at the same university as her. And since I knew I needed a bit of help with literature classes, I ask if she could help me this year. I'm helping her with maths in exchange. Eventually, she kissed me. We knew we needed to keep things quiet, so we're applying for out of state universities."

  
It was true that Ruby and their mother had been arguing more and more often about Ruby applying out of state.

  
"I'm not trying to steal her position as valedictorian. I hope she gets it really. I've been keeping the scores and if I purposefully fail a test or two, she's sure to get it."

  
"You would do that for her?"

  
"Without even a second thought."

  
Either Leti had seriously misjudged Christina, or the blonde was an amazing actress.

  
"Just talk to Ruby, please. I don't want to be the one who has to tell her you followed us to the observatory."

  
"I'll do that."

  
Christina stood up and picked up her bag.

  
"Ruby's lucky to have a sister who cares so much about her. But next time, just talk to her."

* * *

Leti tried to find the best place to talk to Ruby. Usually, they could have climbed up to the roof, but Leti didn't want either of them up on a ten-story building while she was revealing to her that she knew the truth, because one of them was bound to push the other off, and she had an inkling feeling that she knew who would fall.

  
Instead, when her mother asked Ruby to go get some groceries, Leti jumped at the chance to accompany her. Ruby looked at her strangely, but she didn't refuse. The corner store wasn't far, so Leti was quick to drag her sister into an alleyway, checking that they were alone with a few glances.

  
"Leti, what the hell is going on with you?" Ruby asked, annoyed.

  
"Please, please don't get mad, but I know about you and Christina," Leti whispered.

  
Ruby was stunned, at first. Then, anger took over.

  
"You! You..."

  
She barely remembered to lower her voice.

  
"You know? How!"

  
"I saw you climbing in her car. And I followed you. But it's okay, I talked with Christina, and I understand, and I just want you to know that..."

  
"You followed us! You can't just do shit like that, Leti! What the hell!"

  
"It's fine, it's fine!"

  
"No, it's not fine! Who else knows? Tic? Does he know?"

  
"He knows but he promised..."

  
Still, Ruby looked like she was a second away from walking away.

  
"Leti! There's a reason why I didn't tell anyone!"

  
"I know, I know. And I completely misjudged the situation, but you can trust me. I won't tell anyone else. I'll even cover for you with mom."

  
Ruby sighed longly. Her anger was deflating, not because she was no longer angry, but because she had to be the mature and responsible one in that situation.

  
"It's not that I didn't trust you, but one wrong move and both me and Christina could be in very serious trouble. Can you even imagine what mom will say when she finds out I'm with a girl? And Chris' dad..."

  
"I know. She told me."

  
Ruby frowned.

  
"Why did you go to her first?"

  
Leti cleared her throat awkwardly.

  
"I kind of thought that she was manipulating you... But I don't anymore. It's pretty clear you have her wrapped around your little finger."

  
Ruby rolled her eyes.

  
"You really need to mind your own business, or you're going to get into trouble."

  
"I saw you stepping into this expensive silver car, what else was I supposed to do?"

  
Ruby sighed.

  
"Ask me, next time. Really."

  
"Would you have told me the truth?"

  
Ruby's paused was long enough to confirm what Leti already thought.

  
"But seriously, your secret is safe with me."

  
"It better be. I'm going to be mad at you for a while about this."

  
"You say that now but I already told mom that we were going to the cinema together tomorrow evening and if Christina happens to be seating at the back of the room, well..."  
Ruby rolled her eyes.

  
"Fine, maybe you're partially forgiven."


End file.
